A member of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gaur said the crime can only be considered to have been committed if it is reported to police.

And during the recent election Mulayam Singh Yadav, head of the regional Samajwadi Party that runs Uttar Pradesh, criticised legal changes that foresee the death penalty for gang rape, saying: “Boys commit mistakes: Will they be hanged for rape?”

Video: In May, two Indian girls were raped and hanged

A rape is reported in India every 21 minutes on average, but law enforcement failures mean that such crimes - a symptom of pervasive sexual and caste oppression - are often not reported or properly investigated, human rights groups say.